Staying at home with children can be a challenge, especially when we try our best to avoid them spending too much time in front of a screen, instead trying to stimulate their creativity and care for the environment.
At Petit Fox we try our best to promote respect for the planet, reusing children clothes who still have so much love to give. In addition to clothes, today we bring you 8 ideas for fun and sustainable activities to do with children at home, using recycled or natural materials. Have you tried any with your little foxes?
1. Memory game with bottle caps
A simple and fun way to reuse bottle caps is to turn them into a memory game. All you need are matching caps, paper, scissors, glue and pens. Cut paper circles the same size as the caps and draw pairs of different figures, such as animals, fruits, letters, numbers, etc. Glue the circles to the caps and that's it! Now just shuffle the pieces and try to find the pairs.
2. Terrarium with a plastic bottle
A terrarium is a mini garden inside a transparent container, which can be made with a plastic bottle cut in half. You will need soil, pebbles, activated charcoal, moss and small plants, such as succulents or cacti.
Place a layer of pebbles at the bottom of the bottle, then a layer of activated charcoal, which helps prevent bad smells and mold. Then add a layer of soil and plant your chosen plants. Finally, place some moss on top of the soil, to give it a green touch.
Water the terrarium with little water and cover the bottle with the other cut half. Place the terrarium in a bright place, but without direct sunlight, and show your children how it stays alive without needing much care.
3. Musical instruments with recycled materials
How about making a band with musical instruments made from recycled materials? You can use cans, jars, bottles, corks, rice, beans, toothpicks, rubber bands, etc. See some ideas:
- Drum: use an empty, clean can and cover the mouth with a tightly stretched piece of fabric or plastic. Secure with an elastic band or tape. Use toothpicks or spoons as drumsticks.
- Rattle: use an empty, clean plastic bottle and place a few grains of rice or beans inside. Cap the bottle tightly and shake to make noise.
- Flute: use a clean, empty plastic bottle and fill it halfway with water. Blow into the neck of the bottle to make a sound. You can vary the amount of water and the blow angle to change the sound.
- Viola: use a clean, empty shoe box and cut a round hole in the middle of the lid. Attach rubber bands of different thicknesses over the hole, stretching them to the sides of the box. Use toothpicks or straws to lift the elastic bands on the edges of the box a little, making an easel. Tape the elastic bands to the sides of the box. Now just strum the rubber bands to play.
4. Painting with natural pigments
Did you know that it is possible to make natural paints with fruits, vegetables, flowers and spices? You will need a blender, a sieve, a cloth strainer, jars or ice cube trays and brushes.
Choose the ingredients you want to use to make the paints, such as beetroot, carrots, spinach, red cabbage, onion skins, saffron, coffee, etc. Blend each ingredient in a blender with a little water and then strain the juice using a sieve and cloth strainer to separate the pigment.
Place the pigments in jars or ice cube trays and let them dry a little. Then just use the brushes to paint with natural paints. You can mix pigments to create new colors and try painting on different surfaces, such as paper, fabric, wood, etc.
5. Puppets with old socks
You know those old or mismatched socks lost at the bottom of the drawer? You can turn them into fun puppets to tell stories to little ones. You will need socks, glue, scissors, buttons, wool, felt, pens and other materials of your choice to decorate the puppets.
Place the sock on your hand and fold the fingertips inwards a little, forming the puppet's mouth. Glue a button on each side of the mouth for eyes. Use the wool to make the hair, the felt to make the nose, ears and other details. Draw the mouth, teeth, eyebrows and other features with the pens.
Use your imagination to create different characters, such as animals, monsters, princesses, pirates, etc. Storytime will definitely be a lot more fun!
6. Origami with recycled paper
Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper to create different shapes, such as animals, flowers, objects, etc. You can use recycled paper to make origami, such as magazine pages, newspapers, notebooks, etc. All you need is scissors to cut the paper into squares and follow the instructions for each origami model.
You can find several tutorials on the internet or in books about origami. Some easy ideas: the boat, the plane, the hat, the bird, the flower and the star.
7. Homemade PLASTICINE
Plasticine is a toy that stimulates children's creativity and motor coordination. You can make homemade plasticine using simple ingredients you have at home such as wheat flour, salt, water, vegetable oil and food coloring.
Mix two cups of flour with a little salt in a bowl. Add a tablespoon of oil and half a cup of water little by little, mixing well until it forms a homogeneous dough that does not stick to your hands. If it is too dry, add more water. If it is too soft, add more flour.
Divide the dough into equal parts and add a few drops of food coloring to each part, mixing well until the entire dough is dyed. You can use different colors to make colorful clay. Store the dough in closed pots or plastic bags to prevent it from drying out.
8. Mobile with dry branches
A mobile is a hanging ornament that moves with the wind or a gentle touch. You can make a mobile using dry branches that you find in nature or in your backyard. You will need dry branches of different sizes, rope or thread, scissors and light objects to hang from the branches, such as feathers, shells, stones, dry leaves, etc.
Choose a larger, thicker branch to be the base of the mobile and tie a piece of rope to its ends, forming a handle for hanging. Then choose other smaller, thinner branches and tie them to the larger branch with pieces of rope of different lengths.
Finally, tie the light objects to the smaller branches with pieces of rope of different lengths. Ready! Now just hang the mobile in a place exposed to wind or movement and admire your work.
Did you like the ideas? Is there anything else you would like to share? Leave your comments below and… get to work!
